Cardinals bounce back after layoff

LAS VEGAS — There were plenty of positives in the eyes of North Idaho College women's basketball coach Nathan Covill on Monday.

With some time off, the Cardinals looked like a new team.

They defended and got back to the basics.

Deniece Ryan, a freshman from Albuquerque, had 15 points and four rebounds for the Cardinals in a 74-48 win over the Central Arizona Vaqueras of Coolidge, Ariz., in the opening game of the College of Southern Nevada Holiday Tournament at Doolittle Community Center.

Sophomore Solei Elletson had eight points off the bench in her first game of the season after playing soccer during the fall for NIC. Freshmen Aaliyah Clemons and sophomore Faye Davis combined for 18 points off the bench.

"We spent a lot of time over the last two weeks working on fundamentals," said Covill, whose team hadn't played since Dec. 2 in Powell, Wyo. "It was big having Solei back, and I was proud of Aaliyah and Faye for stepping up and playing big minutes."

Addie Kiefer, a sophomore from Lakeland High, had 10 points and seven rebounds and Kendall Pickford, a redshirt freshman from Lake City, had 11 points and six assists for NIC.

Central Arizona shot 20 of 69 in the game, compared to 29 for 57 for NIC.

"We played really well and organized," Covill said. "We knew we'd face a lot of pressure and spent a lot of days working on some different things and put ourselves into some place for some easy baskets. I was really proud of the way our kids responded after that Wyoming trip."

NIC (6-7) faces Western Wyoming today at noon.

Anna Costa Riera scored 20 points for Central Arizona (3-6).

CENTRAL ARIZONA

Maria Luisa Montes 2-3 0-0 4, Tianna Buckley 2-6 1-1 5, Irene Maroto 0-3 0-2 0, Anna Costa Riera 10-20 3-3 25, Kirstine Munk 0-12 2-4 2, Amani Green 0-3 0-0 0, Lindsey Yazzie 1-2 0-0 2, Ashlyn Swenson 0-2 0-0 0, Nicole Fernandez 4-11 0-0 8, Milenia Sablinskaite 1-7 0-0 2. Totals 20-69 6-10 48.

NORTH IDAHO

Deniece Ryan 7-10 0-0 15, Maddie Williamson 4-8 4-4 12, Iratxe Amorrortu 0-3 0-0 0, Addie Kiefer 5-9 0-0 10, Kendall Pickford 4-8 0-0 11, Solei Elletson 3-7 0-0 8, Kalysta Troman 0-0 0-0 0, Diana Morales 0-1 0-0 0, Aaliyah Clemons 2-7 6-6 10, Katie Blume 0-0 0-0 0, Faye Davis 4-4 0-0 8. Totals 29-57 10-10 74.

Central Arizona    8    15    13    12    —    48

North Idaho        13    27    15    19    —    74

3-point goals — CAC 2-19 (Luisa Montes 0-1, Costa Riera 2-4, Munk 0-6, Green 0-2, Fernandez 0-2, Sablinskaite 0-4), NIC 6-15 (Ryan 1-2, Williamson 0-2, Amorrortu 0-2, PIckford 3-7, Elletson 2-2). Rebounds — EAC 34 (Munk 6), NIC 45 (Kiefer 7). Assists — EAC 10 (Maroto 4), NIC 20 (Pickford 6). Team fouls — EAC 16, NIC 11. Fouled out — Costa Riera.

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